Dairy

A popular organic dairy in Scott County is closing its doors after a major power line project skirted the property. The owners of Cedar Summit Dairy won a district court lawsuit that required a power consortium to buy the farm. The CapX2020 project is constructing huge transmission towers to move electricity across the upper Midwest.

The gridlock in Washington D.C. may soon be felt at a grocery store near you. While lawmakers are expected to vote on a budget deal on Thursday, it’s a different bill that could really impact your wallet. If Congress doesn’t pass a new farm bill by the end of the year milk prices could double.

Wisconsin may be known for its cheese, but Minnesota lays claim to one of the country’s largest locally produced cheese festivals. This weekend you can sample some of the best mozzarella at the Minnesota Cheese Festival on the State Fairgrounds.

Janet and John Bremer are dairy farmers in Hastings, and have seen a lot of changes over the years. “When my in-laws first began this farm, there was only three cows — we now milk 128 every morning and every night,” Bremer said. The couple said they understand the decline.

A Hennepin County courtroom is a long way from the dairy herds of central Minnesota. But it’s where the issue of food safety hangs in the balance with consumers rights. Specifically, it’s about farmer’s right to sell raw milk to members of a co-op or “private” food club.

Watching 40 judges in white lab coats nibble on cheese and then spit the samples into garbage cans might not sound like an elegant evening to most people, but hundreds of cheese lovers have paid $25 each for a close-up view of Wednesday’s World Championship Cheese Contest finals.

Got milk? You’re probably paying a lot more for it than last year. WCCO tracked the price for more than a month and discovered you could be paying twice as much depending on where you shop and what brand you buy.